MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia and Tajikistan plan to work together more closely to combat terrorism and the illegal drug trade, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin.
"Taking into account the constantly growing global challenges and threats, we reviewed the prospects of enhancing cooperation in the area of counterterrorism and combating illegal drug trafficking," he noted.
Russia's top diplomat pointed out that security issues in the Central Asian region persist, and drew attention to the situation in Afghanistan in this regard. "It is clear that the situation in this state remains difficult, and it impacts neighboring nations, the countries of Central Asia, including Tajikistan," he stated. "It is in our interest to continue communication on this complicated topic through multilateral frameworks, which include the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan and the mechanism of Afghanistan's neighboring countries. There are related mechanisms in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Recently, a format such as regional dialogue through security councils has also been established."
Moreover, Lavrov voiced Russia’s support for Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon's initiative to increase the efficiency of efforts in the field of information security. "We also noted positive bilateral cooperation on biological security issues between Russia and Tajikistan and agreed to actively promote this topic in the multilateral format within the CSTO," he added, summarizing the talks.